Eight Lions advance to sectional meet

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Updated: March 10, 2012 8:27AM

Once a wrestler gets to the individual state tournament in Champaign, he had better have at least one surefire takedown in his offensive arsenal that he can rely on.

“And preferably two,” Lyons Township senior Jaime Jones said.

Jones used his takedowns to great effect at Saturday’s Class 3A regional, leading a stable of eight Lions to this weekend’s individual sectional at De La Salle. Hinsdale Central earned a 215-185.5 edge over LT for the team title.

Jones (182), Carter Beebe (120), and Justin Fuller (195) won regional titles while A.J. Villareal (126), Jack Bates (145), and Eric Rende (170) placed second for the Lions. Jack Pearson (160) and Adam Rodgers (285) also advanced with third-place finishes.

Of those eight wrestlers, Jones (24-7) is LT’s only returning sectional and state qualifier from last season. The senior posted three pins in La Grange to become a regional champion, and they all began with his takedowns.

“I felt really good on my feet today, and that’s what it comes down to because I rely on my takedowns so much,” Jones said, after pinning Yusif Ismail of Reavis in the title mat.

“I came out aggressive in the beginning of my matches today, using doubles and singles. Our coaches stressed a lot this week to do what you’re good at and stick with it, and that’s what I did.”

LT finished second as a team to Hinsdale Central in the eight-team field.

In winning his title, senior Beebe (28-12) opened his day with a pin and capped it with another on the title mat over Hinsdale Central’s Masen Cruickshank.

“I feel great,” Beebe said. “I was a little iffy about getting down to 120 at the beginning of the year but then I realized that all the 126-pounders are a little bigger than me. I had a good diet, drank a ton of water, and once I got down to 120, it got easy.

“I feel like I’ve got the best conditioning in the state right now and I owe that to our coaches.”

Fuller (23-14) pinned his first two opponents and then won a 7-5 title-mat decision over Stagg’s Ehab ReFati (25-5) in his first season as a varsity wrestler.

Villareal (32-9) led 4-2 on Reavis senior Josh Arnold (30-6) after two periods of their title match before Arnold stormed back in the third to win 6-4. Junior Bates (25-15) pinned Hinsdale Central’s Jimmy Grimm (28-12) in their semifinal before falling victim on the title mat to unbeaten Kevin Moylan (38-0) on the title mat at 145.